Hoshi No Hedatari The Distance between Stars
by HolyKnightHamster
Summary: [Hoshi No Koe, Voices of a Distant Star]
1. Hoshi No Hedatari Prologue

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* * *

September 16, 2047(Mon)  
Subject: I am here  
From: Mikako Nagamine

_Noboru, hi. By the time you get this message, everything that happened will probably be old news, so I won't explain. I don't have much time to anyway. I just want to say some things… First, I'm really glad to have known you and have always cherished our memories. Second, if you don't get anymore messages from me… don't wait… I… want you to continue on with your life. Please, don't be sad. I'm sorry and thank you for everything. Farewell._

* * *

Noboru Terao, 27 years old, 1LT of the Medic Team on the U.N. Operations ship, Aerith. He had received that message two years, six months, eleven days, and seven hours ago. Mikako was… a friend, he knew her since childhood and she had joined the U.N. army shortly before high school. But, if she was only just a friend… why did he continually check his messages like a man possessed, after she left so long ago? Why did he push himself so hard to get into the U.N. army too? Why did he request the phone number of his old civilian cell phone transferred to his military issued government specialized phone? He had chosen a specialized ring for this phone, _"Through the years"_ by Tenmon, it reminded him of her. Suddenly, that tune was playing, the phone pleading for him to check his new message. He reluctantly grabbed the phone, it was probably his supervisor with some "good idea" involving more dumb work.

* * *

March 27, 2049(Thur)  
Subject: I am here  
From: Mikako Nagamine

_I'm so cold. Please, help. Everyone on the Lysithea is dead and I'm scared. Noboru, find me._

* * *

Noboru stared at the message. He blinked, but it was still there. It was impossible, someone was seriouslymessing with him. It was impossible because the message was dated two years after the Tarsian ambush on the Lysytheia. It was impossible because Mikako was... he had helped bury her. Not her body... they never found that among the wreckage of the Lysithea. Like so many others who fought bravely along side her, her Tracer was lost, floating in infinite space.

He screamed as he slammed the phone into the table, shards of plastic puncturing his hand. He got up and went to the bathroom to remove the material and clean the cuts. Trying not to bleed on the carpet, he made his way to the cabinet where he kept the medical supplies. Tightly, he wrapped a bandage around the wounds and took out a bottle of pills. Shaking out two, he popped them in his mouth.

"Here you go." The other person in the room said, offering a glass of water.

The bottle vomited its red, easy to swallow, wax-coated contents on the carpet as Noboru flinched away from the owner of that sweet, haunting voice. There stood Mikako, still only 15, dressed in her pilot's uniform, beautiful. She smiled and put a unnaturally cold hand on his cheek.  
"Noboru? I came back... I came back for you. Aren't you glad to see me?"

Norboru jerked awake as he felt the hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the startled face of his assistant.

"Sir, are you alright?" She asked, reaching over to pull off a sheet of paper that was stuck to his face.

_Real smooth, Noboru. _He thought as he wiped his face with a hand.

"Yeah. What's up Sergeant Nalgi, uh... Serra?" he said, pretending to organize the other papers on his desk.

"Well, sir. I was wondering if you were going to eat..." _Damn, what was that thing called…? LUNCH!_ She shouted out that last word.

"I mean, that is, do you want to go eat it… with me… or maybe I should just go grab something for you?" She started backing out, picking up a bundle off the ground.

"Wait," he said, a little too loudly, he softened his voice, "hold up, let me just grab my stuff and I'll join you"

He grabbed his coat and started walking to the door, but suddenly stopped and marched back toward his desk.

"Where is it, where is it?" He mumbled as he shuffled through the mess of his work area.

"Got it!" He proudly announced holding up his cell phone. He quickly glanced at it, **no new messages**

He shoved it in his pocket. "Let's go."

When they got to the dining facility, it was packed full of people to the point where the line ran outside.

Serra Nagli mentally smacked herself. _Of course this one is stuffed, it IS the main dfac! Why did she drive them to this one? So much for getting a free table…_ She looked down at the package in her hands.

"Should we go someplace else?" she suggested.  
Noboru smiled, "Yea, we could probably go to…" his phone started ringing…

"Hello? What? Really? Now? No, I'm not busy… yeah, give me fifteen minutes"

Serra sagged, "I guess I'll drive you back?"

"Sorry" Noboru grimaced. "I'll need a ride back and you can go eat chow. I'll make it up to you?"

"It's not a big deal… really! I…" Serra stopped mid sentence and they both walked back to the vehicle in silence.

The rest of the day was frantic; Noboru was in meeting after meeting, stopping only to grab a few bites from the package Serra was carrying before. It was a lunch box that she had made.

"Sir, eat this and I'll see you later?" She had smiled and pushed the big bundle into his hands.  
It was full of food that he enjoyed; steamed rice, strips of baked chicken, deviled eggs and chilled coleslaw. Noboru put the leftovers in his mini fridge with all the other foods she made for him.

He tried to ignore the idea that she had a 'thing' for him, he was five years older than her and more importantly, he was her boss. The military would have frowned upon such 'conflicts of interest'. Besides, she had plenty of male admirers. She radiated a beauty that made men walk into walls and women smack gawking boyfriends. She had come into the military with an associate's degree in pediatrics and was working on her bachelor's. She had a cute, infectious laugh that stemmed from her sharp humor.

She had once told him about how she got her name; when she was young, she thought it stood for Seraphim, a class of angels. In actuality, while in labor, between murderous threats of "holding Serra's father accountable for her state" and incensed vows of bloody retribution, Serra's mother screamed that Serra's father name her Serra. Only after Serra's mother had revived from delivery, did he realize that it wasn't Serra but Sarah. By then the papers were finalized and Serra's mother cheerfully decided to keep the name.

Nobru's phone rang again and suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The dream with the strange message was still in the back of his mind. However, it was just a message from his boss. He had been "volunteered" by Major Sepiroth, his supervisor, to make a presentation for the BIG boss in fifteen minutes.

Noboru raced through his office doorway and stopped at the front desk.

"Serra, I need the casualty log for that last mission, you know… uh…"

"The one with Juliet company. Here you go sir."

"Damn, I also need the slides from the cadet virtual war console gaming simulation"

"Alphabetical or chronological?"

Noboru staggered, not because Serra was on top of things, but because he realized his storage card was buried somewhere on his desk and would be impossible to find.

Serra was already holding up her card with two slender fingers.

Snatching the card with mumbled thanks, Noboru ran to closing elevator doors and down two flights of stairs when his phone rang again.

* * *

March 27, 2049(Thur)  
Subject: Meeting no-go  
From: Algus Styles Sepiroth

_Meeting cancelled. I want the files on the game simulation and Juliet casualty log. Drop them off on my desk by the end of the day._

* * *

Noboru sighed, he knew that was going to happen. He wondered if it was possible to get in another nap before the next "emergency"; he hadn't been sleeping well at night. As Noboru walked into his office, he heard her before he saw her.

"That's really funny, so she kept the name, Serra?"

"Yup, my father was quite embarassed though"

His heart collided with his mind. Serra was at her desk casually speaking to another female. It would have been easier for Noboru to single-handedly support the weight of the Aerith, like it was a paper plane, than stop the name from slipping out of his mouth.  
"Mikako?"


	2. Hoshi No Hedatari Chapter 1

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**January 4, 2041 Earth**

Professor Sean August frowned as he picked at the plate of Galbi and rice in front of him. He was at the last place on Earth he wanted to be, his retirement ceremony. He took a sip from his water.

"Professor August! Congratulations! You definitely deserve some rest." A fat man waddled up to him.

_"Oh great, here comes tubby"_ Professor August thought to himself.

Sean was afraid that one of the buttons on the man's overstretched tuxedo would pop off and hit him.

"Thank you Mister Mayor _you overweight, corrupt lowlife_" August smiled.

"You know, it really is too bad that you have to leave. We will miss your brilliant research."

The mayor was sweating profusely and blotted at his brow with a handkerchief, straining the fabric of his suit even more.

"Yes, thank you for your support. _and your continuous cutting off of our funding_"

August decided that his retirement was as good a place as any to tell this man off.

"Granpa Sean! Come dance with me." A pretty little girl grabbed the professor's arm before he could say anything.

"OK, stop pulling, Rian sweetie." Professor August dropped his straw in his glass, silently observing how the water made light travel slower in the glass, bending the image.

"Attention everyone." A drunken young man had approached the podium.

"Good evening all, I would like to propose a toast to our guest of honor. Professor August, you were a great person who taught me a lot and I just want to say... I love you man."

Admidst nervous coughs and hushed chuckles, another man called out "Speech! Speech!"  
Soon, the whole room was chanting "Speech".  
Some hands pushed him toward the podium, where the drunken man gave him a hug and relinquished the microphone.

"Yes, well... that was, interesting"  
_Did he grab my butt in that hug?_

"Thank you all for being here. _although I don't even know three-quarters of this mob_."  
Professor August took another sip. _Here goes_.

"First, I would like to thank my family, who have always humored and supported this old man. My daughter, Jessie, the most precious person in my life. Honey, your mother would be so proud of you, if she was alive."

"I'm right here jerk!" A rough voice called out from the group.

Ignoring his ex-wife's interruption, he continued.

"I'm sure Jessie knows how I feel, because she too has a daughter, Rian, oh I mean, Princess Rian."

The little girl beamed.

"and everyone else... _can go to hell_."

"This is a momentous occasion, not because I am retiring, although I am sure that for a few people, it's a dream come true."

Nervous laughter rippled through the crowd, some people laughing louder than others.

"No, two years ago today, the Tarsians, a colony of alien civilization, massacred the U.N. surveillance team on Mars. My latest research was to find uses for the Tarsian technology we recovered from that terrible day. Please, join me in a moment of silence for our fallen brethren."

Professor August bowed his head and stared at his glass, his straw, the way water bent the light.

"Ahem, I would like to say one more thing, I have found a perfect use for that technology, I am definitely not retiring!"

Some people fainted and at least one person was injured by a high velocity flying button.

Five months later, Professor August created the process to "slow down" light. Yet, despite decades more research by Professor August and the most advanced scientific labs, the process only worked in one direction.

**

* * *

Sep 16, 2047 Hanul**

The pilot breathed heavily as she surveyed the damage done to the U.N. Armada by the Tarsian ambush. The wreckage that was once the Lysytheia drifted further away along with her hopes of survival. She was trained for this situation; she knew the Tracer that she was in couldn't support her while still in active mode, not for too long. She shut down the battle program, the Tarsians that attacked the fleet were long dead and reinforcements were not likely to come for them. She allocated the majority of the Tracer's power to pilot long-term life support; the only other active program was the ultra high frequency distress signal that the Tracer beamed out.

She estimated that the Tracer's remaining power could keep her alive, in a comatose state, for at least two years. She stared at the single button that flashed slowly on her screen, after she pushed it, the STASIS mode would be initiated and she would be put in the comatose state. She looked at her display and confirmed that the distress signal was still being sent out, then she returned to the screen. Her hand wavered over the button and a thousand thoughts raced through her head.

_What if this doesn't work? What if I'm not found? What if I wake up too soon? Or too late? Where is my Tracer floating off to? What if I'm wrong and there are survivors out there? _

The frantic pilot realized that the more time she wasted, the less chance there was that she would get through this. She took a deep breath in and let it out, simultaneously pushing the button.

The lights went out in the cockpit and the only illumination were the dim flashes of the distress signal light outside the Tracer. She sat quietly staring out at space, waiting.

_Noboru! I should tell… him…_

She tried to fight the sudden drowsiness, her phone faded in and out of her vision, she willed her message to the phone.

_Noboru, I am here. Noboru, find me. The world flickered and then went dark._

**

* * *

Oct 24, 2047 Hanul**

"Major Heartilly, we have obtained the Tracer and its pilot. Her name is Captain Mikako Nagamine. She has been transferred to the medical operations team."

"Fine, send out the report and keep me informed on her status." The dark haired officer ran a hand over her face; after thirty-nine days, they had finally found her. She sighed in relief, her mission was over and yet, the ordeal would be ongoing for that poor pilot. She looked out her window at the black emptiness of space and shuddered at the possibility of being out there alone.

Athena Heartilly's anxiety multiplied later that day as she reviewed the reports. The first was from the engineering team, the Tracer had been severely damaged. When they found it, it's power supply had been damaged and barely had enough energy to sustain the life support systems. If they had found the tracer any later, they would be recovering a corpse.

The next report was by the medical team. They had stabilized the patient's vitals. However, at the time of the report, the patient was still unconscious.

Although Athena's ship traveled the distance to the distress signal in a few weeks, the trip back to E3, the nearest planet with a U.N. base of operations, would take twenty-six months because U.N. ships could travel faster than light-speed in one direction only, using the "August Law".

The time is a blessing for Mikako and the therapy she will probably need, Athena thought to herself.


	3. Hoshi No Hedatari Chapter 2

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**Apr 14, 2047 Earth  
**

"Hey! Stop daydreaming and get back to work!"

Noboru's thoughts were violently pulled back into reality by the rough voice. He realized that he had dropped his broom and was staring at the cloudy sky. He mumbled an apology to his father and continued sweeping the store floor. Noboru's mother stopped working on the display in front of her and walked over to him.

"Noboru-kun! Who's the girl? A mother's intuition is never wrong. Is it that girl that is always coming around here? What is her name…?"

"Mikako…" Noboru whispered involuntarily.

"No, I think it's Rei, Rachel… Oh, you know… the one with the short black hair and big brown eyes."

"… Mother, that describes half of the girls in town."

Noboru's mother wrinkled her forehead in thought and called to the back, "Honey! What is the name of the Ayanami's daughter?"

"Dear, the Ayanami's don't have a daughter, you mean the Sohryu's and her name is Rian" Noboru's father said.

"Rian… Ryan…" Noboru's mother frowned and repeated the name like she was tasting it, "well, anyway… does my little boy have a little girlfriend?" Noboru's mother teased.

"No. Stop it mother, I don't have a girlfriend and I'm not a little boy."

Noboru yelled to the back of the store "Father! I'm done sweeping, I'm going out for a little while."

Noboru walked to the station, not to catch a bus but a memory.

**

* * *

Oct 24, 2046 Earth **

"Where should we eat?" Mikako asked. It was the last day of high school entrance exams.

"Let's head toward the bus stop" Noboru offered. Mikako seemed different all day, nervous, sad; Noboru thought that her nerves were fried from the exams, but she was so smart…

"We'd better hurry" Noboru said as they heard thunder in the distance.

By the time they reached a dry booth, the rain had started to fall heavily.

"So, are you going to continue Kendo class in high school?" Noboru asked between bites.

"I don't know. Are you, Noboru-kun?" Mikako asked, apprehensive.

"Yeah, I'm gonna. You should continue too, because you're strong."

"So you say, but you just want to be in the same class as me" Mikako stated with a doubtful look.

Noboru almost bit through his wooden chopsticks, "What are you saying?" He sputtered.

He wondered if he was so obvious.

"Yea, picking on the poor defenseless little girl, wait till I tell everyone. Big man." Mikako giggled.

"Defenseless? I distinctly remember you hitting me full in the back of the head when we were supposed to be practicing swings."

"I told you… the wooden sword got away! It was an accident." Mikako pouted.

"It happened three times, in one day!" Noboru said.

Mikako watched the world pass as she rode on the back of Noboru's bicycle, after the rain stopped. The sun was setting, causing the clear sky to flare bright red and yellow. Suddenly, a loud roar overhead made Mikako look up.

"Noboru-kun, look!" Mikako called to Noboru.

They watched as an organized group of U.N. ships flew into the sunset.

"It's beautiful…" Mikako said.

_"You're beautiful"_ Noboru whispered to himself.

Noboru felt Mikako's hand clench on his shoulder.

_"Oh God! Did she hear me?"_ Noboru's heart stopped in humiliation and relief.

"Noboru-kun… I…" Mikako's voice was soft with nervousness. "…I am going to be onboard that. I've been asked to join the U.N. Army. I'm leaving for Mars, in four months."

**

* * *

Apr 14, 2047 Earth **

"Noboru Senpai!" Noboru shook his head to clear it, he looked back to see Rian Sohryu breathlessly running uphill to catch up with him.

"Senpai, didn't you hear me calling?" Rian reached Noboru and put her hands on her knees, her labored breath steaming in the cold air.  
Noboru patted the top of Rian's head, "Did you follow me all the way from the shop?"

"Yea! You're mom… said that you went… this way. She was look… ing at me all funny… Where are you going?" Rian finally caught her breath.

"To the bus station and no you can't come."

"Hmmph! As if…" Rian stomped ahead a few steps, then looked back, "Well aren't you coming?"  
Noboru rolled his eyes and continued walking.

Rian grinned.

"No."

"No what?" Rian blinked innocently.

"No, you can't hold my hand" Noboru stated with a blank stare.

"Hmmph! Like I would want to hold the hand of some pervert!" Rian spun around and started walking again.

"Senpai? Can I ask you something?" Rian bit off another dumpling from her stick.

"What?" Noboru wondered why she was still here, he bought her the dumplings so she would shut up and go away. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

"Noboru Senpai, do you have a girlfriend?" She reddened and bit down her stick.

"…That's a stupid question." Noboru wondered why everyone was so interested in his love life.

"Yeah. Um, my friend… she wanted me to ask… you." Rian suddenly found the lint on her skirt very interesting and started to pick at it.

Noboru glanced at his cell phone impatiently, "Are you done? With your food, it's getting dark; I'll walk home with you." Noboru got up and threw his plate in the trash.

"Oh! Yes, yes I am. Thank you."

**

* * *

Apr 15, 2047 Earth **

The bell rang announcing the end of another busy school day. Relieved students poured out of their classrooms, joking, flirting, some silent, some rowdy, all leaving behind ripples of their past and moving towards the unknown future. Noboru went to his locker and found the note.

Dear Noboru  
I've been admiring you from afar and close.  
The first time we met, it was like a dream.  
Since then, I've survived on the chance one day, you could love me back.  
Please meet me in the auditorium at 5 p.m.

Your secret crush

"Doesn't that girl ever give up?" Noboru mumbled.  
It was obvious to him that it was Rian, her curvy, gentle handwriting was unmistakable and the faint scent of perfume was on the pink paper.

He wondered if he tried harder, like writing love notes, would **she** still have left?

He wondered…


	4. Hoshi No Hedatari Chapter 3

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**Oct 24, 2046 Earth**

"Listen Mikako-Chan, I like you, a lot. And if that changes our friendship, I don't care! I think you're beautiful and smart and funny, I really, really love with you." Noboru grinned.

"Yeah, that's what I'll say to her." He turned away from the mirror and glanced at his watch; time for school.

"Noboru-kun, good morning!" Noboru walked outside his house and saw Mikako waiting at the front gate. Suddenly, he couldn't remember any of his words.

"Gluh, luv puretty me, you" He blurted out.

"What? Are you still sleepy? Wake up!" She poked a finger into his chest. "Listen buster, you better not fall asleep on your exams today!"  
Noboru's heart sank, first match lost, Noboru score: 0, Sadistic fate score: 1

"Let's go." He slowly trudged to the school.

_"What's with him?"_ Mikako wondered to herself. "Ya! Wait up!" She ran up to him and they both walked to school.

-

Later on that day, Noboru felt a little better. He regained some courage after his first exam. His next exam was in the same class as Mikako, he would definitely tell her then.

She was already in the classroom and had reserved a seat next to her; she seemed to be mumbling to herself and writing in her notebook.

"Yo, what are you doing?" Noboru sat down.

Mikako jumped and slammed her notebook shut.

"O K, that was definitely suspicious..." He teased.

"Ssshut up, you." She stammered, her eyes widening.

"Let me guess, you failed your last exam and were too scared to tell me? Don't try passing me any suicide notes." Noboru grinned.

"What was that? Why you...!"

Noboru got a face full of notebook.

"Attention everyone! Settle down, I'm going to pass out the exams now!" The class instructor announced.

Halfway through the test, Noboru realized that he still didn't confess to Mikako. Noboru: 0, fate: 2.

He snapped his pencil in half in frustration.

"Doh!" He frantically looked around for another and one shot from Mikako's hand staight to his forehead.

"Thanks, Mikako-Chan. HA HA!"

"SHHH!" The class turned to warn them, much to Mikako's embarrassment.

-

Noboru and Mikako didn't have their last exams together.

"Noboru, I have something to tell you. Let's meet after school. OK?" Mikako looked a little nervous.

"Yeah, sure. We'll meet outside at the big tree."

"Yup, see ya." Mikako ran off to her next exam.

_"Something to say... to me?"  
"Well, I have something to tell her too."  
"Could it be...? Will we confess our feelings for each other? Under the romantic cherry tree? Blossoms floating down all around us? YES!"_

Noboru turned to go to his exam and ran face first into a locker. **CRASH!**

**-**

"Noboru! Wait up!" Mikako ran down the stairs to catch Noboru, who had just finished his last exam too.

"So, how'd you do?" Noboru asked.

"I did great!"

"Then, the same high school next year...?"

"You think we both could get accepted?" Mikako's face lit up, but Noboru didn't see her face drop when she said _"...we could have."_

_-  
_

"So what did you need to tell me?" Noboru asked as he got his bicycle.

Suddenly, a large ship flew through the air, interrupting loudly.

"Noboru-kun, look!" Mikako stared in wonder.

"Yeah, the U.N. carrier ship, Lysithea" Noboru was amazed by it's sheer size.

"I wonder if there were any pilots selected from our town?" Noboru thought out loud.

"Yea..." Mikako said softly.

Noboru continued babbling about the U.N. army and the fight against the Tarsian attackers and Mikako responded with light grunts. Noboru wondered why she was being so quiet.

_Maybe she didn't do as well on her exams? Maybe she failed and she can't go to that school they both promised on! But, that didn't matter! He wouldn't go either, he would wait a year or follow her to any school._

"I'm sorry, Mikako. I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No... it's not that." Mikako looked down at the ground.

She decided to change the subject.

"Where should we eat?" Mikako asked.

"Let's head toward the bus stop" Noboru offered.

_"Great, that's a perfect place to say what I need to say"_ they both said to themselves.


	5. Hoshi No Hedatari Chapter 4

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**Oct 24, 2046 Earth**

Noboru and Mikako's hearts were racing by the time they reached the bus station; partially from trying to outrun the pouring rain, but mostly from anxiety about what they needed to tell each other.

They dove into the first covered booth they saw, laughing and collapsing on the ground.

"Whew… I'm… soaking… wet…" Noboru wheezed as he tried to catch his breath.

"Really… coming… dow…" Mikako stopped mid-sentence.

Noboru realized why she suddenly became so quiet as he looked up and saw that when he fell, his right hand had landed under her soggy short skirt.

"Ah oh… sorry…" He quickly snatched his hand back.

"Why you… you… pervert!" Mikako yelled as she kicked Noboru back out into the rain.

-

"So, are you going to continue Kendo class when we go to high school?" Noboru asked.

_"High school? Oh boy, it's still too soon to tell him, I can't."_ "I don't know. Are you, Noboru-kun?" Mikako replied, as calmly as she could.

"Yeah, I'm gonna. You should continue too, because you're strong."

"So you say, but you just want to be in the same class as me" Mikako stated with a doubtful look.

Noboru almost bit through his wooden chopsticks, "What are you saying?" He sputtered. _"Does she know how I feel? I want to tell her, but I'm too nervous now."_

_"Why? Why can't I just tell him, he's going to find out sooner or later."_ She thought.

_"What kind of man am I? I'll just say it."_ He thought.

"Um, Mikako?" He said as she was saying "Listen Noboru-kun".

They both laughed uneasily.

"Why don't you go first." Mikako said.

"No, no… go ahead." Noboru smiled.

"I insist." Mikako's smile stopped Noboru, did she always smile so beautifully?

"Oh… OK, um… Mikako, there's something. We've been friends for a long time now and… and…" Noboru stuttered as he looked at the ground.

"Go on" Mikako said as she gently grabbed his hand with both of hers.

Noboru looked up at her smiling face framed in the evening sunlight.

"Mikako. I think that we… that is you and me, uh, I…"

"That is… Mikako, I wanted to tell you that… "

Noboru closed his eyes, pointed out the window and blurted "That… that the sun is setting. We should head home!"

"What? Oh yeah… it is getting pretty late… huh?" Mikako looked out the window.

-

Mikako was delighted as she rode on the back of Noboru's bike. She placed her hands on Noboru's shoulders, closed her eyes and it felt like she was flying.

"Noboru-kun, look!" Mikako called to Noboru as she pointed to a group of fading lights in the sky.

"Those look like Tracers, the U.N. Army's mechanical battle suits."

"It's beautiful…" Mikako said.

Mikako closed her eyes again tightly. _"He deserves to know"_

"Noboru-kun… I…" Mikako's voice cracked. "…I am going to be onboard that. I've been asked to join the U.N. Army. I'm leaving for Mars, in four months."

Luckily, the bike was already stopped or Noboru would have been seriously hurt when he fell off it.

**

* * *

Oct 29, 2046 Earth**

Mikako cried out as she was pushed against the metal lockers, she was able to steer clear of Noboru for a few days after her announcement but now she was trapped.

"Nagamine. Why have you been avoiding me?" Noboru growled.

"I haven't been doing anything of the sort." Mikako said.

"Liar!" Noboru spat as he squeezed Mikako's arm.

"Noboru. You're hurting me!" Mikako whimpered.

Noboru quickly let go and stepped back. "I'm sorry. But please, Mikako, talk to me."

Mikako rubbed her sore arm and looked away, "I already told you, I am going to join the U.N.'s Special Operations Force."

"But that doesn't make any sense to me! What about High School?" Noboru protested.

"What about it? I'm not going." Mikako stated.

Noboru shook his head as if to clear those words from his brain.

"Not going? I thought we were supposed to go together!" Noboru sighed.

"Well, things change. People change."

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't get why you're doing this to me." Noboru frowned.

"To you? This has nothing to do with you. This is a great break for me, I'm one of a few select members picked by the military. High school is nothing compared to what the U.N. is offering. Don't you see? As my friend, can't you just be happy for me?" Mikako said as she slumped to the ground with her face in her hands.

"Mikako? But… Mikako, I'm sorry. Please don't cry." Noboru said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not crying, you jerk!" Mikako said as she slapped his hand away.

"Now that you know, let's just spend these last months as best we can. I gotta get home now, but I'll see you tomorrow." Mikako smiled.

"Yeah… tomorrow." Noboru replied as Mikako walked past him.

"Wait." Noboru grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"You gonna rough me up some more? I know martial arts, you know." Mikako snickered.

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I am happy for you. I'm sorry, I said some dumb things, forgive me?"

"Noboru… yeah, I forgive you, dork. Now I really do have to go." Mikako said.

As Mikako walked away from Noboru, he suddenly called out he name again.

"What now?" She said as she turned around to face him.

"Mikako-chan, I like you! I mean more than just like friends!" He yelled.

Mikako sighed as she walked back to Noboru.

"Noboru, I'm sorry. But I don't feel the same… I just want to stay friends."

Noboru stayed with his head down.

"Noboru? Noboru, say something."

Noboru made a sound like a cough, which turned into a chuckle and then suddenly Noboru was holding his stomach and laughing out loud.

"Noboru?"

"Ha ha ha! I fooled you, didn't I? You thought I was serious? Geez, you're too easy to fool. Of course we're just friends. As friends, we have to be able to joke with each other."

"What? Yeah… good one." Mikako laughed.

"Yeah. I was just… kidding." Noboru sighed as he watched Mikako leave.


	6. Hoshi No Hedatari Chapter 5

Please enjoy my fanfic and review.

**February 13, 2047 Earth**

Noboru sat in silence as the car quietly made it's way to the airfield. He normally didn't sulking, at least not while Mikako could see. He looked down to his right shoulder where her head rested while she slept.

"_I love you." _He whispered.

With anxious fingers, he pushed some stray hairs away from her face and maintained the contact for a moment longer than would have been inappropriate for their relationship, the "friendship-only" relationship she wanted.

"No jelly donut, don't eat me." Mikako mumbled in her sleep causing Noboru to chuckle.

Soon, Noboru also fell asleep. When Mikako heard the soft snoring, she opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at Noboru's face.

"_Noboru, my sweet caring Noboru. I truly am sorry for the trouble I cause you and will continue to cause you."_ She thought as she put a hand to where his was a minute ago. Closing her eyes, she went back to sleep.

-

The slow forward motion caused by the car decelerating and then stopping woke Mikako up again an hour later. She looked up to catch Noboru staring.

"Hey. Were you watching me sleep?" Mikako teased.

"No… I was just surprised because… you say the most stupidest things in your sleep… and you drool." Noboru countered.

"I sleep talk and drool? What kind of things did I say?" Mikako asked embarrassed.

"How should I know? Anyway, we're here."

Mikako got out of the vehicle and stretched before walking around to the back of the car to help Noboru get her luggage out.

"Why do you need so much stuff? Isn't the military providing you with everything?" Noboru complained.

"Just a few necessities." Mikako said as they strained with a particularly heavy suitcase.

"Yeah right. Knowing you, these bags are full of Pocky!"

"Like I said necessities… now shut up and pull!" With one last gasp, they removed the suitcase from the trunk and the car lifted three inches.

"Hey, I have to grab my ticket. Can you help bring some of these to the check-in counter with me?" Mikako asked sweetly.

Noboru mumbled under his breath about slavery rights but grabbed a suitcase and followed Mikako.

As Mikako approached, the ticket clerk gave Mikako a great big smile.

"Hello and how can I help you, lovely lady?" He said.

"Nagamine, Mikako. I am on the U.N. shuttle flight to Mars." She gave the clerk her passport.

"Okie Dokie. One sec, and I'll get that ticket for you. And might I add, you are quite photogenic." The ticket clerk looked down at his keyboard and typed.

"…I, N, E. and I press this key and here it is." The clerk looked up and glared at Noboru who had just walked up.

"Hi." Noboru smiled as he patted Mikako on her head.

"Yes. Hello…" the clerk growled.

"Is that my ticket?" Mikako said uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Here. How many bags you checking?" The clerk passed the ticket and passport back to her.

"Just four." Mikako said, still not understanding what caused the sudden change.

"Your boyfriend on this flight too?" The clerk shot make-believe death beams from his eyes at Noboru.

"Boyf… no, just me." Mikako said as Noboru loaded the last suitcase that Mikako's mother dragged over.

"Fine. Thank you. Next!" The clerk waved them away.

"What was his problem?" Noboru asked as they walked away.

Mikako shrugged.

-

"Mikako-chan, I want you to eat well and listen very carefully to what your teachers say, ok?" Mikako's mother told her.

"It's not elementary school, mom. I'll be fine." Mikako reassured her mother.

"Well… OK, Noboru-kun, how about one more picture?" Mikao's mother asked Noboru.

Noboru looked up from the U.N. pamphlet he was reading.

"Sure." He finished eating the Pocky stick he was using as a makeshift cigarette and brought up his camera and photographed them.

"Thanks. And let's get one of you two." Mikako's mother said as she reached for the camera.

"Now stand side-by-side. Mikako, get a little closer to Noboru-kun."

Mikako stepped to her right and their hands touched.

"Sorry." Mikako said.

"No prob." Noboru answered.

"Aww. That's no good. Noboru, put your arm around her or something. Right, like that. On three now. One. Two. Three."

Mikako and Noboru made weird faces as Mikako's mother took the picture.

"Great, there's one I'll treasure forever." Mikako's mother said sarcastically as they laughed.

"Oh, looks like they're lining up." Noboru pointed out.

For a moment, Mikako looked hesitant but then she regained confidence. "Well! Guess this is it!"

"You sure? I could still kidnap you and take you away, if you're too nervous ." Noboru grinned.

"Nah. This will be a piece of pie.".

"Good, then… I guess this is goodbye."

"No, that's too sad. Besides, we'll message each other and stuff…"

Noboru thought_ "Please, don't go"_ but that wasn't what Mikako needed to hear so he smiled and said "Yeah, good luck. I'll be cheering for you."

Mikako thought _"Don't forget me."_, but what she said was "Don't forget me."

Mikako gasped. _"I didn't mean to say that…"_

Noboru's smile faded a little and he just nodded.

The announcement that they were beginning to board the passengers was made so Mikako hugged her mother and Noboru once more and entered the transport to board the ship.

Noboru could see Mikako through the transport's glass windows, he waved.

Mikako smiled confidently and gave him the peace sign as the transport slowly ascended.

Noboru continued to wave and watch her until her image blurred through his tears.


End file.
